Graham & Brown

How to line up your wallpaper

Anyone who has ever underestimated this decorating challenge will tell you how easy it is to accidentally make a little mistake that ends up making a big impact. From batch numbers to offcuts; hanging patterned wallpaper can be a little trickier than hanging paper that has a plain design, but it’s easy enough if you follow our simple guide.

At Graham & Brown, we want DIY to be accessible to all, so we’ve compiled a cheat sheet to ensure your wallpaper adorns your walls in exactly the way it was designed to.

Here are our top tips for ensuring your day of decorating goes exactly to plan.

Choose a style you’re comfortable with

If you’re a complete wallpapering novice, it might not be a good idea to choose a design that displays an intricate pattern. It may seem like common sense, but many people go ahead and choose an extremely detailed design without thinking about how hard joining up each piece will be.

Wonky wall woes

Surprisingly, your house won’t have been built as accurately as you may think. The walls you’re about to cover may slope slightly, altering what you think looks straight half way through hanging your wallpaper. This is completely normal and it’s just the way houses settle once they’ve been built and luckily for you, there’s a simple way around it!

To combat wonky walls, make sure that before you start applying the wallpaper you draw a guideline with a spirit level. This may leave space at the top and bottom of your wallpaper, but don’t worry, you can simply paint an inch wide white strip that will help to hide any ends that don’t quite match up.

How much wallpaper do you need?

This is a frequently asked question that doesn’t have a straightforward answer. How much wallpaper you’ll need all depends on the size of your walls, pattern on the paper and how many windows and doors you’ll be avoiding.

Simply use the roll calculator found on every product page to see how many rolls you need.

Working out how much wallpaper you need is important, as you’ll want to ensure you’re getting the exact same batch. Getting half way through your decorating only to realise you need more paper is more than a little frustrating.

Paper that isn’t from the same batch may not match up with the wallpaper that’s on your walls and could also be a slightly different colour. When buying online, we ensure your batch numbers are all the same, but many people don’t think to double-check when buying wallpaper in store.

Where to start?

Your first sheet should be four inches longer than necessary to assist in lining up the pattern. When applying the first sheet you should take your time to smooth out any bubbles and bumps that could impact the finishing look.

Cut into the excess paper with a sharp knife to ensure a clean cut. It’s best to do this once the paper is dry as the drag of the knife along damp paper could cause rips and tears.

What to do with excess paper

Ooops! You’ve ordered a little extra paper or simply have quite a few offcuts from navigating windows and doors. That’s ok, there are plenty of ways you can use wallpaper away from the walls. Lining cupboards and framing extra cut-offs are amongst the hundreds of ways you can make use of any leftovers.